Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says the financial outlook of the state is very positive. He gave the assurance at the unveiling of the new digitised central storage facility of the State Treasury Office in Alausa. Ambode said few days to the end of his tenure, his commitment to bring about financial accountability and robust financial base for the state remains unwavering.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the tenure of our administration is coming to an end in a few days, but our commitment to maintaining the financial accountability, transparency and creating a robust financial base in the state is unwavering. Let me assure you that our state is safe; its finances are secure and the outlook is very positive,”Ambode said.
The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, said the new edifice was in line with the civil service reform embarked upon by his administration. He said it was also part of the vision to continually innovate and transform the financial processes of the state.
“Today is a special day for us because we are writing a new chapter in the success story of public financial management in Lagos State. Today, we are moving from an analogue system to a digital and state-of-the-art platform for storing our critical documents,” he said.
Giving details about the facility, Ambode said the edifice was fitted with modern equipment which would convert all physical payment vouchers and supporting documents into electronic form. He said this would be subsequently stored to aid easy and seamless archiving as well as retrieval of security documents. Ambode said that the transformation would go a long way to ensure that the state’s public financial information management system was in line with leading practices across the world.
“By transitioning from manual to electronic system of archiving and retrieving vouchers and other supporting documents, we have demonstrated a commitment to investing in information and communication technology to steer the State on its journey towards a Smart City.
“Asides the electronic storage, this complex also houses an ultra modern staff training facility with capacity to accommodate 150 persons for treasury staff in the state civil service.
“With the premium our administration places on regular capacity development, this training facility became imperative and will provide the conducive environment for in-house technical training of finance and account officers.
“This will no doubt enhance the productivity and quality of output as we continue to build the technical capacity of our staff,” he said.
Earlier, the governor commissioned the dualised Bisola Durosinmi Etti/Hakeem Dickson Road in Lekki area of the state.
He said that his administration not only prioritised renewal and development of road infrastructure, but utilised an all inclusive approach that had touched both rural and urban areas in the state.
Represented by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ade Akinsanya, the governor said his administration had given the axis the attention it deserved in terms of infrastructural development, considering its proximity with the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Lekki Phase 1 Residents Association, Mr Kayode Otitoju, commended the governor on the projects.
He said that the road had transformed the axis and upgraded their standard of living.